Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

“Spreading burdens…across the whole world, huh.”

It seemed that Dersia was fixated on that phrase, as she turned the page with a serious expression.

“Hm.”

“Did something come to mind?”

“There is something, but for now it’s purely in the realm of speculation, so I’d prefer not to say.”

At that moment, Ciel, who had been quietly listening from behind, interjected.

“Master. Even if it’s just speculation, please explain in detail what you just thought of.”

“…What?”

Dersia raised an eyebrow. But Ciel didn’t back down in the slightest and shot back.

“You always do this. Saying things like ‘you wouldn’t understand even if you heard’ and then going off on your own. It’s not the first time you’ve acted without explaining things. You caused trouble last time too without even trying to explain.”

“…”

“Even if it’s rough, if you talk about what you just felt, I think Jern will feel more reassured.”

Unable to refute her due to the guilt of her actions, Dersia sighed and answered.

“It really isn’t anything worth mentioning. During the last battle, that one called Decay said something along the lines of, this real world could be someone’s Inner World. That sort of thing.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nonsense. Not even worth discussing. If the real world is someone else’s Inner World, then what constitutes that Inner World? In the end, an Inner World is made up of the real world. It’s no different from the paradox of which came first, the chicken or the egg.”

She dismissed it sharply.

“But I thought, maybe because they’re the kind of lunatics who can think that way, they came up with this plan. That’s all there is to it.”

“Isn’t planning something and executing it two different things?”

“That’s also true. I still don’t understand what this even means. To spread a burden… across the world? That would imply overlaying someone’s Inner World onto the real world…”

Dersia furrowed her brow.

“No matter how I think about it, the only conclusion I reach is that it’s impossible. But still, I can’t bring myself to believe that Crimson Circle are just ridiculous fools chasing after illusions.”

“There must be some method.”

“Jern. This is just simple curiosity, but I’d like to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

She blinked as if intrigued and asked.

“Let’s suppose their plan succeeds, and your Deep Sea unfolds upon the world.”

“…”

“I’ve seen the images of those Deep Sea Creatures in these books and I know they’re dangerous, but I’ve never heard how powerful they really are. What kind of outcome do you predict?”

I answered without hesitation.

“It will absolutely fail. This is a burden that can’t create a Fallen.”

“Hm, so you mean they’re easy to deal with? On an individual level, they must not be that strong then.”

“The opposite.”

“…Huh?”

“They’re far too powerful. They’re not at a level to become a burden. If these things are released into the real world, the Empire’s destruction is a guaranteed starting point.”

If the Deep Sea Creatures were to be released.

And if they began to target humans other than those with my blood.

From that point on, there would be no safe place left on the surface.

These creatures can use current sense. No matter where someone hides, they will find and kill them. At that speed, probably…

“It would take about three hours until half the population is wiped out.”

“Mm, I see…”

With a stunned look, Dersia lifted the back end of her fountain pen and dropped ink onto the book.

“If that’s true, then we don’t have time. There are many more things I’d like to ask, since it’s a Crimson Circle executive, but for now, I’ll erase it.”

“Erase it?”

“If Lump is digested as is, it will die. Then it will return to Crimson Circle with information about you, Jern. If that happens, what Crimson Circle will target is all too clear.”

“…Can’t we just imprison it for life-”

“We can, but then it’ll still become a target for Crimson Circle. It’s best to avoid troublesome matters. So, I’m going to erase Lump’s memory.”

“?”

Dersia spoke languidly, as if deciding on a dinner menu.

“I can erase, modify, and add to the things recorded in me. However, since I haven’t yet reached the Celestial Realm, it’s not perfect, so I can’t alter too much. I’m still far from the realm of complete revision. Still… I might be able to add something like this…”

As I watched her muttering and editing the book, something suddenly came to mind.

“Is that a magic spell that was developed not long ago?”

“? Yes, that’s right.”

“…You didn’t develop it just to use it on me back in the Elf nation, did you?”

“Well, we gained a significant result. We now know the purpose behind Crimson Circle trying to create the Three Evils, and what they intend to do with them.”

Dersia suddenly brought up another topic.

“Right?”

“However, we didn’t learn what their goal truly is. That is, the method to resist the lifeforms that live in the world of Deep Sea Creatures and the Three Evils.”

“…”

“It seems even Lump doesn’t know… but to put it another way, it means that the Crimson Circle executive who spoke with Lump knows how to control them.”

“Ah, yes.”

I stood from beside Dersia and sat next to Ciel. She naturally patted my head and nodded.

“For Jern to survive, contact with Crimson Circle will be unavoidable.”

“…That’s the conclusion I’ve reached. In the end, it means we need their knowledge.”

Dersia sighed and closed the book.

From the closed book, black ink bubbled up and flowed over the desk. It looked as if blood were spilling.

“It’s done. Lump is dead, but all they’ll know is that the Empire caught on and sent Dersia, and that in the process, Lump fell into a trap and died instantly.”

“This is really amazing.”

“I put quite a bit of effort into it, after all.”

“I see.”

Even though I didn’t say much, Dersia, feeling perhaps a bit guilty, stood and opened the door.

“Ahem, I’ll return first with Ciel. Since you have the status of an Imperial Emissary, you can take care of things appropriately and return tomorrow. And…”

She glanced at the bed where Rahan was lying and added.

“You’re really not going to tell your father the truth?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Rahan is not Rahan.

But that doesn’t mean I am Rahan either.

So then, is there any reason to stir things up by poking at the truth?

“If you keep the doll around, it could leave room for Crimson Circle’s interference. In the end, it’s just a meaningless deception. I still think it’s best to reveal the truth and take care of everything.”

“Well, I can’t deny that.”

After all, it’s an artificial lifeform created by Crimson Circle. Who knows what side effects it might have?

Even so, killing it was never an option.

The moment I use the word killing, it had already become that way.

“But I don’t believe Crimson Circle’s goal is to use these dolls to massacre the kingdom. As the books suggest, their main objective is likely to create hidden bases where they can hide. Since things have remained stable without major disturbance so far, even if they return, I don’t think much will change. And…”

I looked at the sleeping Rahan and let out a short laugh.

“If he were truly under their control, he wouldn’t have helped us capture Lump. The reason everything was resolved so quickly is thanks to him. I’d prefer to think of him not as a doll, but as a separate human being they created.”

“…You really haven’t changed, have you.”

Dersia looked at me with a complicated expression.

There were mixed emotions, but overall, it didn’t seem like a bad look.

“When you return, let’s talk more about Crimson Circle. Also, do you feel that your burden has deepened in this battle?”

I moved my arm to test it.

It did feel a bit more like wading through stronger currents than before, but it was bearable.

“A little. But thanks to Water Barrier, it’s not too bad.”

“That’s something I need to study as well… In any case, understood. After departure tomorrow, let’s meet in the evening.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Once Dersia and Ciel left, only Rahan and I remained in the room.

I tucked the mask inside my coat, got ready, and organized the situation.

The Deep Sea Creatures weren’t created separately during the process of my fall. They are a characteristic of the Inner World of the Three Evils.

I understood why the Deep Sea Creatures existed, but the situation was still completely unclear.

In the end, what mattered wasn’t the reason, it was finding a fragment that could control this.

If it was truly a part of the core characteristic, it would be far more difficult to touch.

“Hmm…”

Thinking about it, there was one strange thing.

If I assume all of this is true,

“…Then what exactly happened to me?”

Crimson Circle never tortured me.

The Great World doesn’t manifest unless it’s deliberately created.

Yet I am the Great World, one of the Three Evils, and the Deep Sea. It means I am a completely absurd existence overlapped with the worst of the worst.

And this is all a coincidence?

I couldn’t afford to dwell on it too much since I needed to deal with the Deep Sea Creatures, but it was definitely strange.

‘I don’t get it.’

I thought about it for several minutes, but no answers came.

With no other choice, I decided to wake Rahan first.

“Rahan, it’s over. Wake up.”

“Ugh… mm…”

Honestly, I wanted to just carry him back, but when I checked with current sense, there were still many guards out, even at this late hour.

Their faces were full of tension. Even though they were ordered by Jahian to keep things secret, they must have heard that a comrade had died.

If I walked around with a prince on my back at a time like this… hmm.

Didn’t seem like anything good would come of it. It was better for the two of us to move together with Rahan walking.

Rahan, rubbing his eyes, looked up at me and blinked sleepily.

“Horn hyung…?”

“Yeah. It’s all over. We repelled all of Crimson Circle.”

“R-Really?? Phew, thank goodness…”

Rahan let out a sigh of relief, then blushed in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry. Since it was an incident in our kingdom, I should have stayed awake as the prince, but I suddenly got so tired…”

“It’s fine. You did your part by telling us who that guy was. You’ve done more than enough. You should be proud.”

“If that’s true, I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s been so hard since I was young, because things always happened to me suddenly like that…”

As he spoke with a happy face, I took a closer look at Rahan.

…Looking at him like this, he seems like nothing but a human. He even uses magic.

It’s fortunate that creating him seems to be extremely difficult. If mass production had been possible, they probably could’ve done something insane like turning their own dolls into Fallen.

Maybe that was their original intention all along.

I shook my head to clear away the unnecessary thoughts and patted him lightly on the shoulder.

“Let’s go back to your room first. Get a good night’s sleep.”

“Yeah… Ah, right. Hyung. Come to think of it, I got a new ability!”

“What? What kind of ability?”

I tilted my head at the sudden remark.

Rahan began explaining with sparkling eyes.

“Today at the banquet, I met more people than I ever have in my life, and I really put in a lot of effort, right?”

“Yeah. You did.”

“I think that’s why. Around this evening, I realized what my ability is.”

“Really?”

That piqued my interest.

The situation had been urgent, so I just glossed over it, but I’d always been curious about how Rahan could see into other people’s worlds.

When I listened closely, Rahan proudly raised his hand.

“Look at this!”

“What is it?”

“A little closer!”

“?”

I couldn’t see anything.

But when I looked more carefully, there was a very thin, semi-transparent film wrapped over his skin.

“What… is this?”

“I tested it myself, and it turns out I have this ability!”

Rahan separated a candle from a nearby lamp, and lightly brought his palm near it.

“Ah, hot! Ow…”

…Then quickly pulled his hand back in surprise.

I thought it was some kind of defensive ability, but I guess not. I frowned and brought over a pitcher filled with cold water.

“What if it leaves a scar? Give me your hand.”

“No! This is just the beginning!”

Rahan had a determined look on his face as he brought his palm back over the candle flame.

I tried to stop him, but this time, his expression was different.

There wasn’t a trace of pain on his face.

“It doesn’t hurt at all!”

“…What?”

“This is my magic. I can stop myself from feeling pain I’ve already experienced!”

“…!”

“And look at this.”

Rahan held up his palm where the candle flame was touching.

The flame was burning on top of the flickering membrane. More precisely, it was continuing to burn.

Even though the only thing sustaining the combustion was Rahan’s hand, that hand remained completely unharmed.

For quite a while, the flame kept burning until Rahan blew on it with a soft puff.

Even after it seemed to be extinguished, it flared back up again and wouldn’t stop. It finally returned to normal only after I poured water on it.

“This is what happens. I guess… this is it.”

“You’re adapting to the situation.”

“Yeah, I think that’s it.”

“…”

I know this ability.

Water Barrier. The small world that protected me in the Deep Sea.

I spoke slowly.

“You… being able to see the worlds of other Fallen.”

“…Hyung?”

“It’s because you’ve been in contact with Fallen since you were young. Your Inner World decided you needed to adapt. To that world.”

My Water Barrier wrapped around me to protect me from the dangers of the Deep Sea, becoming a small diving suit. Even now, in this moment, it’s struggling to keep me alive.

Rahan’s danger was the Fallen.

His Water Barrier, having been in contact with Lump since childhood, tried to protect its master. To warn him. So if there was a Fallen nearby, it would somehow detect and replicate their world in a similar form.

Not because Water Barrier has intelligence. It simply adjusted itself to survive.

If I hadn’t spent all my time submerged in the Deep Sea, my Water Barrier would’ve done something similar.

“A-Are you okay? Why did your face suddenly go pale? Are you hurt?”

As I stood there blankly, Rahan asked in concern.

I forced a smile and nodded.

“…It’s nothing. I just had something on my mind. Should we head back?”

“Ah, yeah!”

Yeah.

It really is nothing.

A doll mirrors the magic of the original. That’s all there is to it.

It’s not that strange. If humanity was reproduced as it was, then the world inside would likely be structured similarly.

But there’s one problem.

That is, if my world, if the world Rahan carries in his body, is Water Barrier.

…Then whose is the Deep Sea?

Where did it come from?

“So I shouldn’t be blaming others…”

I muttered under my breath, out of Rahan’s earshot, and let out a sigh.

Crimson Circle didn’t torture me?

Right. No one in this world has ever tortured me.

I became the Great World for no reason?

That’s not it.

Because the version of me from South Korea..

…That was who the Fallen was.